Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 5 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 4 team of the week: TCU
Week 4 game of the week: Iowa State vs. St John’s
Week 4 player of the week: Mo Odum, Arizona StateÂ
Week 5 matchup of the week: Kansas vs. UConn
Week 5 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Cincinnati at Xavier
1) Arizona Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. Denver (103-73), W vs. Norfolk State (98-61)
Next week: vs. #21 Auburn (Dec. 6 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UConn, vs. Florida (neutral), vs. UCLA (neutral)
Bad losses:
After a crazy first three weeks, Arizona enjoyed a quiet one, taking care of its two mid-major opponents with ease. This Arizona team continues to look balanced and hasn’t had a single game where they have slipped. Hopefully, they enjoyed their Thanksgiving, because it’s right back to work. They’ll face another top 25 team in Auburn, hoping to boost their resume even more.
2) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. #14 St. John’s (83-82), W vs. Creighton (78-60), W vs. Syracuse (95-64)
Next week: vs. Alcorn State (Dec. 3 – 8 p.m.), at #1 Purdue (Dec. 6 – Noon)
Quality wins: St John’s (Neutral), Creighton (Neutral), Syracuse (Neutral), Mississippi State
Bad losses:
Iowa State went 3-0 in the Players Era tournament… and finished fifth. The format is frustrating because they don’t get that extra NIL money despite going undefeated, but it’s certainly going to help in March when it comes to seeding. The big 3 continues to dominate, especially Milan Momcilovic, who scored 20+ in two of the three games.
Tamin Lipsey got injured during the tournament and missed the Syracuse game. It seems like a short-term injury, but it’s definitely something to monitor. They’ll need him this week, as they take on arguably the best player and team in the country in Braden Smith and Purdue in West Lafayette.
3) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 6-1
Last week: W vs. Miami (72-62), W vs. Dayton (83-79)
Next week: vs. Cal Baptist (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m)
Quality wins: Wisconsin (Neutral), Villanova (Neutral), Miami (Neutral), Dayton (Neutral)
Bad losses:
BYU is your Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational – Magic Bracket champions, beating Miami and Dayton to get there. Both teams gave BYU a tough test, trailing at half in both games, but used strong second halves to get past them. Richie Saunders continues to shine in big games, scoring 29 in the Dayton win, and Kennard Davis is back from suspension as well.
If they can get past Clemson next week, which they should, they can enter conference play with just one loss and five big wins on their resume. They can’t look past Cal Baptist, though, who are one of the last undefeated teams in the country.
4) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+7)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. Notre Dame (71-61), W vs. Syracuse (71-60), W vs. #17 Tennessee (81-76)
Next week: vs. #5 UConn (Dec. 2 – 9 p.m.), vs. Missouri (Dec. 7 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: Tennessee (Neutral), Syracuse (Neutral), Notre Dame (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Kansas finally looks like a Big 12 threat, and they’re doing it without Darryn Peterson as well. They were expected to win against Notre Dame and Syracuse, but picking up the win against Tennessee was very impressive. Flory Bidunga continues to look great, and Melvin Council Jr. did a great job getting downhill and getting buckets in the second half.
It seems like not having Darryn Peterson has allowed guys to establish their roles more clearly and step up. The good news is it appears he will be back for the UConn game, and they’ll need him because right after that, they’ll face their rivals, Missouri, in Kansas City.
5) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-3)
Record: 7-1
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (78-74 OT), L vs. #17 Tennessee (73-76), W vs. Notre Dame (66-56)
Next week: vs. Florida State (Dec. 6 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Auburn (Neutral), vs. Syracuse (Neutral), vs. Notre Dame (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Houston, unfortunately, just hasn’t looked like the National Champion threat we expected them to be. They let Syracuse take them to overtime, the same Syracuse team that Kansas beat by 11 and Iowa State beat by 31. They then lose to Tennessee and beat Notre Dame by 10. The offence seems to be lacking, and they’re making errors that we never see from Houston teams.
The good news is, even though they haven’t looked great, they’re still 7-1 with four good wins. Kingston Flemings is a star, and Uzan has looked a lot better since his slow start. They’ll play Florida State in Houston this week, hoping to pick up another Power 5 win.
6) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W at Northwestern (86-81)
Next week: vs. Sam Houston (Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.), vs. Grand Canyon (Dec. 6 – 7:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Northwestern, Texas A&M, South Florida
Bad losses:
Oklahoma State continues to be one of the bigger surprises this season, improving to 7-0 with a big win on the road against Northwestern. That’s definitely their biggest win of the season to date, and they had five players score in double figures in the win. Steve Lutz is a winner, and they’ll have an opportunity to start 9-0 this week, taking on Sam Houston, then Grand Canyon in Phoenix.
7) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 5-1
Last week: W vs. Creighton (81-74), L vs. #14 St John’s (81-96), W vs. San Diego State (91-81)
Next week: vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.), at Memphis (Dec. 6 – 4:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Washington, Creighton (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Any team that came out of the Players Era with a winning record has to feel good. Baylor was one of them, defeating Creighton and San Diego State. Cameron Carr continues to play like a star, and Yessofou continues to develop. This team just seems to fit well, and even though it didn’t necessarily look great against St John’s,
They’ll get their first true road game of the season against Memphis. It’s their final test before conference play, so Baylor has to feel like they’re in a good spot if they take care of business in that one.
8) Colorado Buffaloes
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. San Francisco (79-69), W vs. Washington (81-68)
Next week: vs. Cal Baptist (Dec. 1 – 9 p.m.), at Colorado State (5 p.m.)
Quality wins: Providence, San Francisco (Neutral), Washington (Neutral)
Bad losses:
How about the 7-0 Colorado Buffaloes? They are one of the last 25 unbeatens, and while their schedule hasn’t been mind-blowingly hard, they took down San Francisco and Washington to win the Acrisure Holiday Championship. Bangot Dak has been terrific, and they are inside the top 50 offensively in KenPom.
They’ll face off against another unbeaten on Monday in Cal Baptist, before making the short trip to Colorado State for a good ole rivalry game.
9) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. New Orleans (82-50), W vs. Wyoming (76-72)
Next week: vs. LSU (Dec. 7 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: Wake Forest (Neutral)
Bad losses:
This Texas Tech team hasn’t looked like the team we expected. They needed all 40 minutes to beat Wyoming, winning by just four. It continues to be JT Toppin and Christian Anderson out there, and defensively, they’ve really struggled in these big games. They’ll get a chance to right the ship on Sunday, when they take on undefeated LSU in Fort Worth.
10) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+5)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. #10 Florida (84-80), W vs. Wisconsin (74-63)
Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Dec. 5 – 8 p.m.), vs. North Texas (Dec. 7 – 5:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Florida (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral)
Bad losses: New Orleans
TCU did not let the New Orleans loss define them this season. Since then, they’ve looked significantly better, highlighted by this week. First, they take on and beat the defending national champion Florida Gators, then beat Wisconsin by double digits to take home the Rady’s Children Invitational.
Brock Harding has really stepped up as the leader, and David Punch has taken the leap needed in year two. Defensively, they were terrific against Wisconsin as well. This week, two good tests, starting with Notre Dame, who has not fared kindly against Big 12 opponents and a North Texas team that has been up and down, but will still give them a scare.
11) Arizona State Sun Devils
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+3)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. Texas (87-86), W vs. Washington State (100-94), L vs. USC (75-88)
Next week: vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 6 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: Texas (Neutral), at Hawaii
Bad losses:
Arizona State is another team that has definitely looked better than expected. A lot of people didn’t think they had what it takes to beat Texas, but they proved those people wrong, pulling off the big win. Mo Odum was a superstar, scoring 36 points, going 16-18 from the line. He’s the clear star of the team, and the more the ball is in his hands, the better they’ll fare.
They’ll face off against Oklahoma on Saturday, which has dealt with early-season struggles.
12) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. Mercyhurst (70-38)
Next week: vs. Coppin State (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 6 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Pittsburgh
Bad losses:
West Virginia absolutely dominated Mercyhurst, holding them to 38 points. It was a quiet week overall in what was a busy week around the rest of college basketball, and hopefully the quiet week can propel them to victory against a feisty Wake Forest team.
13) UCF Golden Knights
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 7-1
Last week: W vs. Quinnipiac (102-91), W vs. VMI (82-57)
Next week: vs. Towson (Dec. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Texas A&M, vs. Pittsburgh (Neutral)
Bad losses:
UCF broke the 100-point mark for the first time this season against Quinnipiac, but allowed 91 points. They were much better defensively in the game following, allowing just 57 points. Fulks is averaging 7.4 assists per game, sixth most in the country, and Jamichael Stillwell is fourth in the Big 12 in rebounds per game.
They’ll face Towson this week, a team that gave Houston a tough time earlier this season. They should head into conference play 11-1, which would be great for this team’s confidence.
14) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-6)
Record: 5-2
Last week: L at Indiana (69-86)
Next week: vs. Bowling Green (Dec. 1 – 8 p.m.), vs. Seton Hall (Dec. 6 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: California, Mississippi State (Neutral)
Bad losses:
The score really doesn’t do justice to how one-sided this game was. Indiana dominated from the tip, and kept Haggerty in check, holding him to 16 points and forcing him to commit 6 turnovers. It was the first true road test for this team against a top-25 team, so it’s nothing to be too concerned with, but when nearly the entire Big 12 had a great week, and Kansas State didn’t, they suffered this big drop in the power rankings.
The game on Saturday against Seton Hall will be a must-watch. The Pirates have looked a lot better than everyone expected, and it’s a good opportunity for Kansas State to pick up its best non-conference win of the season to date.
15) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-5)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. NJIT (94-67), L vs. Eastern Michigan (56-64)
Next week: vs. Tarleton State (Dec. 1 – 7 p.m.), at Xavier (Dec. 5 – 7:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Dayton
Bad losses: Eastern Michigan
Oh man, Cincinnati. No matter how much talent they have, Wes Miller will find a way to lose a game like this, and this loss could hold a lot of negative value in March. They never led against an Eastern Michigan team projected to finish 9th in the MAC.
This is truly inexcusable and not great as they turn to December. They’ll have two more games this week to regain momentum, most notably a road game against in-state rivals Xavier, who beat West Virginia last week.
16) Utah Utes
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 6-2
Last week: L vs. Grand Canyon (58-68), W vs. Ole Miss (75-74)
Next week: at California (Dec. 2 – 10 p.m.), vs. Cal Baptist (Dec. 6 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Ole Miss (Neutral)
Bad losses: Cal Poly
The Big 12 is so good that winning against Ole Miss isn’t good enough to get you out of last place in the Big 12 power rankings. Don McHenry was phenomenal, scoring a season high 27 in that win on 10-15 shooting. If he and Terrence Brown can become a dynamic duo, then things might be looking up for them. They’ll face two California teams this week, including an old Pac-12 friend in California on Tuesday.
Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 4
Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 3
Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 2
Big 12 Basketball Preview & Preseason Awards
[…] Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 5 […]